09-26-2017, 12:39 AM
Rumata has recommended a very good book- Two Years Before the Mast.
Get it here, free;
Two Years Before the Mast
It was written by Richard Henry Dana in the early 1800's and mainly describes the life and times of American merchant sailors, as Dana experienced it, aboard ship(s) trading in California. The book provides a very thorough picture of the trip Dana took aboard Pilgrim to California and his trip back to Boston aboard Alert.
Here's excerpt from the homeward bound portion of the book from California back to Boston;
Sunday, June 5th, we were in lat. 19° 29' S., and lon. 118° 01' W., having made twelve hundred miles in seven days, very nearly upon a taut bowline. Our good ship was getting to be herself again, and had increased her rate of sailing more than one third since leaving San Diego. The crew ceased complaining of her, and the officers hove the log every two hours with evident satisfaction. This was glorious sailing. A steady breeze; the light tradewind clouds over our heads; the incomparable temperature of the Pacific,— neither hot nor cold; a clear sun every day, and clear moon and stars every night, and new constellations rising in the south, and the familiar ones sinking in the north, as we went on our course,— ``stemming nightly toward the pole.'' Already we had sunk the North Star and the Great Bear, while the Southern Cross appeared well above the southern horizon, and all hands looked out sharp to the southward for the Magellan Clouds, which, each succeeding night, we expected to make. ``The next time we see the North Star,'' said one, ``we shall be standing to the northward, the other side of the Horn.'' This was true enough, and no doubt it would be a welcome sight, for sailors say that in coming home from round Cape Horn, or the Cape of Good Hope, the North Star is the first land you make.
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There are a lot of books about sailing and navigation you might find interesting, here;
Books
Clear skies,
CelNav57
Get it here, free;
Two Years Before the Mast
It was written by Richard Henry Dana in the early 1800's and mainly describes the life and times of American merchant sailors, as Dana experienced it, aboard ship(s) trading in California. The book provides a very thorough picture of the trip Dana took aboard Pilgrim to California and his trip back to Boston aboard Alert.
Here's excerpt from the homeward bound portion of the book from California back to Boston;
Sunday, June 5th, we were in lat. 19° 29' S., and lon. 118° 01' W., having made twelve hundred miles in seven days, very nearly upon a taut bowline. Our good ship was getting to be herself again, and had increased her rate of sailing more than one third since leaving San Diego. The crew ceased complaining of her, and the officers hove the log every two hours with evident satisfaction. This was glorious sailing. A steady breeze; the light tradewind clouds over our heads; the incomparable temperature of the Pacific,— neither hot nor cold; a clear sun every day, and clear moon and stars every night, and new constellations rising in the south, and the familiar ones sinking in the north, as we went on our course,— ``stemming nightly toward the pole.'' Already we had sunk the North Star and the Great Bear, while the Southern Cross appeared well above the southern horizon, and all hands looked out sharp to the southward for the Magellan Clouds, which, each succeeding night, we expected to make. ``The next time we see the North Star,'' said one, ``we shall be standing to the northward, the other side of the Horn.'' This was true enough, and no doubt it would be a welcome sight, for sailors say that in coming home from round Cape Horn, or the Cape of Good Hope, the North Star is the first land you make.
---------------------------------------------------------
There are a lot of books about sailing and navigation you might find interesting, here;
Books
Clear skies,
CelNav57
